This blog is an on-going report of my frequent adventures and observations as a physics groupie living in Los Angeles. I regularly seek out Curious Characters à la Richard Feynman along the path towards greater understanding of mathematics and science. My goal is to show you that a life in science can be exciting, rewarding, and down right scintillating. Teachers and children are particularly welcome!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

In the Arena – Calling All Scientists

It was a different time, a hundred years ago when former President Theodore Roosevelt strode into the Sorbonne in Paris to deliver his “Citizen in a Republic” speech which has become widely known as the "Man in the Arena" speech. His remarks were a call to action reflecting on what he believed were the duties associated with someone living in a democracy. [I’ve included the unforgettable passage below for your encouragement.]

Teddy’s words are as inspiring today as they were a century ago, but I look at them in a different way. I look at them as a call to action for all those armchair scientists out there, reading about science, attending lectures, and maybe evening dreaming about making a discovery one day. Why not actually climb into the arena? Why not decide to do some real science? Get your face marred with dust.

As I’ve conveyed over and over again here on the SLB, you have many paths at your disposal to make a real contribution (yes, small contributions are worthwhile too). It could be something simple like participating in Galaxy Zoo to classify galaxies, or hunt for supernovae. You could turn to amateur astronomy and locate comets, celestial events (recall the amateur who first noticed the stupendous Jupiter impact last year), or even discover a new exoplanet. At the very least you could run a BOINC screen saver and play a role in a global science computation project. You have a lot of options to “feel the triumph of high achievement.” Do real science now!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and short coming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never by with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

1 comment:

Hello all- I'd like to add a reference that I just learned about that complements this post about participating in science. Check out: http://scienceforcitizens.net/ which is a website where science enthusiasts can find actual science projects to join. So please find a project in your area!

About the Physics Groupie

I am an independent researcher in gravitational wave astrophysics. I'm also an award winning science writer. I have adopted a science lifestyle and it has been a very enjoyable metamorphosis with many curious turns along the way. I spend a great deal of my time with my chosen areas of science and I'm having a lot of fun. Would you like to have fun with science too? If so, then feel free to tag along with me on my journey of understanding the natural world around us. In the photo I'm seen in the LIGO control room (Hanford, WA). I welcome all comments: ddgutierrez@alumni.ucla.edu